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Valparaiso University: Presidents

Alan F. Harre,
1988-2008

Dr. Alan F. Harre came to Valparaiso University in 1988 as its 17th president and sixth under Lutheran auspices. He received the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1962 from Concordia Senior College, Fort Wayne; Master of Divinity in 1966 from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis; Master of Arts in 1967 from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education, Richmond, Virginia; and Doctor of Philosophy in 1976 from Wayne State University, Detroit. Dr. Harre began his professional career in 1967 as assistant pastor of St. James Lutheran Church in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. In 1973, he joined the theology faculty of Concordia Teachers College, Seward, Nebraska, where he also served as assistant to the president, dean of student affairs, and acting president. He served as president of Concordia College, St. Paul, from 1984 on until to Valparaiso.

Under Harre’s direction, VU’s financial standing improved immensely. Valpo’s —endowment grew from $37.6 million in 1988 to $192 million in 2007. A skilled planner and fundraiser, Harre developed a long-range master plan for campus development and led highly successful capital campaigns that secured nearly $240 million in financial support. This helped pave the way for major new campus buildings of true architectural merit—the Center for the Arts, the Christopher Center for Library and Information Resources, and the new Union.

After two decades of impressive leadership, Dr. Harre retired on June 30, 2008.